Source: Michael Doyle Their Name Liveth For Evermore: The Great War Roll of Honour for Leicestershire and Rutland.
He was the son of Frederick Stimpson, a general labourer, born 1859 in Langham, Rutland, and who died in the 1st quarter of 1897 in the Oakham, Rutland district, and his widowed wife Annie Pumphrey Stimpson (nee Dickens, married on the 5th October 1885 in Harborne, Staffs), born 1863 in West Bromwich, Staffs. Sydney Albert Stimpson, was born on the 30th June 1896 in Langham, Rutland, his siblings were, Carrie, a teacher’s monitress , born 1886 in West Bromwich, Staffs, Frederick, born 1894, Harold, born 1895 and Frank, born 1900, the latter three siblings were all born in Langham, Rutland, in March 1901 the family home was at Brewers Buildings, Burley Road, Langham, Rutland. In the 4th quarter of 1901 Sydney’s widowed mother married Ernest Bryant in the Oakham, Rutland district. In April 1911 Sydney was employed as a gardener and was residing in the family home at Brewery Buildings, Burley Road, Langham, Rutland, together with his step father, Ernest Bryant, an engine driver, born 1877 in Ashwell, Herts., and his mother and sibling, Frank, a schoolboy and his half blood siblings, Geoffrey Bryant, born 1902 and Rita Bryant, born 1905, the latter two half blood siblings were born in Langham, Rutland. Sydney was educated at Langham School, and was a member of Langham Church choir. He commenced work as under gardener for Lord Ranksborough, and then took up the trade of wagon builder with the Midland Railway Company at Long Eaton in Derbyshire. Sydney enlisted into the Royal Marines on the 30th September 1914 in Nottingham, and was allocated the service number 17924. His medical examination recorded that he was 5 foot 4¾ inches in height, and his complexion was described as fresh, his hair colour was dark brown and his eyes were hazel, it was noted that he had a scar on his right thumb. He gave his date and place of his birth as the 30th June 1896 in Langham, Oakham, Rutland, and his trade or calling as wagon labourer, Midland Railway Company, he gave his religion as Church of England. His record of service began when he joined the Recruit Depot at Deal, Kent as a Private on the 30/9/14 – 3/3/15, when he was transferred. Portsmouth Division, 4/3/15 – 23/6/15, when he embarked. HMS Black Prince, 24/6/15 – 31/5/16, when he was killed in action. The background relating to the circumstances in which Sydney lost his life are as follows; HMS Black Prince was modified in March 1916 as a result of lessons learned at the Battle of Coronel, with the 6-inch guns removed from their casemates and replaced by six 6-inch guns mounted individually behind shields between the beam 9.2-inch turrets. The ship participated in the Battle of Jutland, where she was sunk with heavy loss of life. The circumstances under which she sank were mysterious for some years after. As the British had lost contact and did not see the ship destroyed, they were unsure as to whether a submarine or surface ship was responsible for sinking the HMS Black Prince. During the battle, the First Cruiser Squadron was deployed as part of a screening force several miles ahead of the main force of the Grand Fleet, but HMS Black Prince lost contact with the rest of the Squadron as it came into contact with German forces, at about 5.42pm. Soon after, two other members of the First Cruiser Squadron, HMS Defence and HMS Warrior were heavily engaged by German battleships and battle cruisers, with HMS Defence blowing up and HMS Warrior receiving heavy damage, which later caused her to sink. There were no positive sightings of HMS Black Prince by the British fleet after that, although a wireless signal from her was received at 8.45pm, reporting a submarine sighting. During the night of the 31st May–1st June, the British destroyer HMS Spitfire, badly damaged after colliding with the German battleship Nassau, sighted what appeared to be a German battle cruiser, with two widely spaced funnels, described as being “a mass of fire from foremast to mainmast, on deck and between decks. Flames were issuing out of her from every corner.” The mystery ship exploded at about midnight. It was later thought that the burning ship may have been HMS Black Prince, with the two midship’s funnels having collapsed or been shot away. Recent historians, however, hold to the German account of the ship's sinking. HMS Black Prince briefly engaged the German battleship Rheinland at about 11.35pm GMT, scoring two hits with 6-inch shells. Separated from the rest of the British fleet, HMS Black Prince approached the German lines at approximately midnight. She turned away from the German battleships, but it was too late. The German battleship Thuringen fixed the HMS Black Prince in her searchlights and opened fire. Up to five other German ships, including battleships Nassau, Ostfriesland and Friedrich der Grosse, joined in the bombardment, with return fire from HMS Black Prince being ineffective. Most of the German ships were between 750 and 1500 yards of the HMS Black Prince, effectively point blank range for contemporary naval gunnery. HMS Black Prince was hit by at least twelve heavy shells and several smaller ones, sinking within 15 minutes. There were no survivors from HMS Black Prince’s crew, all 857 being killed.